SideTracked
by SecretForKeeps
Summary: Rune finally allows Rath and Thatz to take a little detour.  Just some fun, light-hearted adventure set around volume one.  Enjoy!


"Hey, Rune! Don't you think it's tiring, performing our duties as Dragon Knights? We should take some time off to relax, and have a bit to eat." As Thatz asked this, he had a mouth full of wild berries, which he'd eating all morning.

Rune tensed, a vein beginning to stand out on his temple in preparation for the explosion to come. They'd had this sort of conversation before, and he knew where it was going.

"What? But I thought we were going demon-hunting today! Hey Rune!" Rath's childish whine chimed in soon after.

Rune clenched his fists.

"You and your demons. What's wrong with you? No one in their right mind seeks them out like you do."

"We're Dragon Knights, aren't we? It's our job to hunt demons."

"Not with the sort of fervor that you do. Even you need to relax every once in a while. Recharge for the next hunt, y'know?"

"But I don't need to recharge right now!"

"YOU TWO! Yes, we are Dragon Knights who hunt demons! Yes, we deserve a break every now and then! But right now, we really, really need to get BACK TO DRAQUEEN!"

"Rune, chill. See, Rath? This is a prime example of why we can't always go running around chasing demons."

"Hmm, I guess so…"

"THATZ!" screamed the blond in frustration. He stomped away and took a deep breath, counting to ten slowly in his head. When he returned, he had regained his composure. Somewhat. "Fine. I guess there's no helping it. I'll make a small compromise and we will go on a _little _detour, is that clear? Just a little one!"

"Hooray!" Confetti and fans appeared from nowhere as Rath and Thatz celebrated their small victory.

"There should be a town nearby. We can go there to find a nice restaurant to enjoy ourselves at!"

"And ask the townspeople if they've seen any demons nearby!"

Rune sighed. "Lead the way."

The Knights trekked off down the path. Meanwhile, a girl wrapped in a traveler's cloak was lurking nearby, hidden in the shadow of the trees.

"Looking for demons, huh? This could be my chance to snatch Nadil's head," she giggled to herself, her golden eyes flashing. Then she disappeared in a gust of wind.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me! Do you know where we can find any demons?"<p>

A girl with long dark hair turned to look at them dubiously. "Demons?"

Thatz groaned. "Rath, we've asked like twenty people already! There doesn't seem to be any—"

"I know of one."

"Eh?" Rath, Thatz, and Rune said happily, disbelievingly, and disappointedly (respectfully.)

"It lives deep in the forest. Most people are afraid to venture too far in, so not many people know of it. But I saw it once."

"What's it like?" Rath asked eagerly.

"Hmm… It's big. Bigger than a horse. And it has really sharp claws and fur all over. I think it had horns too…"

"How awesome!" Rath exclaimed with a gleam in his eye.

"Sounds pretty typical for a demon," Rune commented blandly.

"Well then," said Thatz. "You two can go have fun and I'll wait here and—" Rune grabbed him by the collar.

"Oh no you don't, if I have to suffer, then you're suffering with me."

"But there isn't even a reward!" Thatz's complaint fell on deaf ears.

"Thanks for all your help!" Rath called to the girl as the three made their way towards the forest.

"Oh, it was no problem," she said to no one, for they were already out of ear-shot. She giggled and let her disguise fall away, revealing none other than the girl from the misty valley, Cesia. "No problem at all."

* * *

><p>"Hello! Demon! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Rath called into the forest.<p>

"You guys, we've been walking forever! Let's take a break!" complained Thatz.

"We've only been walking for half an hour!" exclaimed Rune.

"Well it feels like forever…"

"That's only because you're lazy. This exercise will be good for you," stated Rune.

Thatz took a few more steps, then fell to the ground dramatically. "It's no good, I'm so hungry! Go on without me! Save yourselves~!"

"Save ourselves from what? Did you find the demon?" Rath popped back into the conversation, pulling his head out of the bush he was peeking into. Leaves stuck comically to his hair.

Cesia was watching quietly from the branches of a tree nearby. "Pefect, they're right where I want them. Now I'll just use an illusion spell." She swirled her fingers in the air and gusts of wind followed. The gusts accumulated shape and form until the illusion of a snarling beast was created. "Go!"

Thatz's ears pricked and he pulled his head up off the ground. "Hey, did you guys hear something just now?"

The fake monster crashed through the underbrush to take a swipe at Rune, who ducked, and almost stepped on Thatz, who rolled away and collided with a bush.

"Geh!"

"What the?"

"It's the demon!" Rath shouted gleefully.

The illusionary monster used the advantage of their surprise to attack again, this time aiming for Rath.

"Rath, look out!"

"Fire dragon!" Rath called out, summoning his sword. He gave a war cry as he aimed his attack at the beast. Dancing flames shot out and licked at the monster, but the wind swirled and the flames died down. The monster remained unscathed.

"What? Impossible!"

"Water Dragon!" This time it was Rune's turn. A fierce spray of water attacked it, and for a while the air was so full of mist and spray that it was hard to see what had happened. But suddenly a claw reached out towards Rath and Rune, the razor sharp tips gleaming as it aimed for the knights.

"No way!" Rath and Rune shouted indignantly and fearfully, with no time to defend themselves.

"Earth!" A wall of stone appeared, blocking the monster's attack.

Thatz appeared beside the two and winked. "Jeez you guys, you're losing your touch."

Unfazed, Rath blinked and Rune replied, "Oh, Thatz. You finally got out of the bushes. That's great."

The Earth Dragon Knight scowled. "Shut up! I just saved your life, y'know!"

The monster roared, bringing them back to the matter at hand.

"This guy's strong. Looks like we'll have to attack all at once. On the count of three, okay? One… two…"

Rath shot forward, brandishing his sword before him.

"Oi, Rath! I said on the count of three!" Rune cried angrily as he leaped after him.

Thatz sighed. "Really. How did I end up with guys like these?" Then he joined his comrades as they blasted the monster with all they had.

Cesia winced. "Dammit, I can't hold it much longer…!"

"YAAAAHHH!" The earth shook, fire raged, and a flurry of wind and water pelted the forest, a literal swarm of the elements. When the smoke finally cleared, the monster was gone, but so was a decent bit of the forest.

Rune scowled. "Can't you guys fight a little more elegantly? Look at this mess, do you know how much the faeries will have to work to clean this up?"

Rath was looking around in confusion. "Where did the demon go? We didn't completely disintegrate it, did we?"

Thatz yawned. "Can we please go get something to eat now? All this fighting has made me extra hungry."

The three started heading back into town. Meanwhile, Cesia was still sitting in the tree, fuming. "They've gotten stronger! They completely destroyed my illusion and I didn't even get a chance to steal Nadil's head!"

* * *

><p>"Ta-da!" Thatz cried in a sing-song voice, as he gestured to the fancy-looking restaurant behind him. "I heard about this place while browsing through the <em>Zagat Guide to Enchanted Eateries.<em> The food is supposed to be absolutely amazing!" Tears of happiness ran down his face. "After all this trouble and hardship, I'll finally be able to sample the taste of a true meal again!"

Rune sighed. "Alright, but let's make it fast so we can get back to Draqueen."

They walked into the front entrance, furnished elegantly and gleaming spotlessly. The host at the front desk looked down his nose at them and asked, "May I help you gentlemen?"

"A table for three please!" said Thatz.

"I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken. This restaurant is much too high-class for people of your… level." He eyed their dirty and travel-worn clothes with barely-concealed disgust.

"Our level?" Rune's face started to turn that unhealthy shade of red again. "Listen here, buddy! I'll have you know that we are the dr—mff!" Before Rune could get started on his angry rant, Thatz covered his mouth.

"So sorry! Please excuse us!" he said cheerfully, and dragged the other two back out the door with him.

When they were outside, Rune wrenched away. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

"Yeah, Thatz," Rath agreed from where he still was, with Thatz arm locked around his shoulders. "I thought you really wanted to eat here?"

"I had a feeling this might happen. Ritzy places like this always consider appearances before people's feelings."

"Sounds like you know from experience."

"Well, yeah." He sweatdropped. "But that's why I have these!" Thatz pulled from seemingly nowhere a sack of finely tailored clothes. "If we change into these, we'll fit right in! This way we can eat in peace.~!"

Rune glared. "Do I even want to know where you got those clothes from?"

Thatz smiled innocently. "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies."

The vein on his forehead ticked, but he relented. "Fine! I'll overlook it this once." He stomped off to change, Thatz following behind cheerfully, and Rath just didn't care.

But minutes later….

"THAAAATZ!"

"What? Don't you like it?"

"Why am I wearing a dress? Again?"

And he was. While Thatz and Rath had fine button-down coats and dark slacks on, Rune was wearing a long, light-blue summer dress with a high collar, but short and puffy sleaves. A sash tied into a bow at the waist and a pair of small heeled shoes completed the look. The color complimented his eyes.

"It suits you Rune," Rath complimented without any mal-intent as he let Thatz straighten his tie.

"Come on, Rune! I couldn't get another guy's outfit and we all know how lovely you look in a dress!"

"You…!"

Thatz swung an arm around Rath and grinned. "You're not gonna let Rath and I go into that fancy restaurant by ourselves, are ya?"

For a moment, Rune was speechless as he tried to come up with something to say. "I'm going to kill you later tonight! Just watch!" was what he ended up with as he once again stomped off in anger, back towards the restaurant.

Rath and Thatz high-fived.

* * *

><p>Finally, seated at a candle-lit table and dining with fancy tablewear, Thatz was scarfing down his third bowl of something-or-other, Rath was clinking his silverware together as he sang a song that he'd just made up about demons, and Rune was starting to realize just how expensive this restaurant really was.<p>

"Thatz, how much does that dish cost?"

"Eh, I don't remember."

"It was expensive."

"Was it?" Thatz asked nonchalantly through a mouthful of food.

"How do you plan on paying for this meal? (And don't talk with your mouth full.)"

"By billing it to the Dragon Lord of course."

"By what?" Rune exploded.

"Don't worry, Rune," Rath cut in. "Kaistern does it all the time."

"Just because Kaistern does it, doesn't mean we should too!"

"Excuse me," the waiter appeared. "Can I offer anything? More food, some wine?" He glanced at Rune and gave him a wink. "Perhaps the company of a real gentleman?"

Rune let his head fall to the table with a thunk.

* * *

><p>Several days later, a rather large bill for three appetizers and seven main course dishes, plus five desserts arrived at the Dragon Castle.<p>

"THEY ATE WHERE?" Alfeegi's voice could be heard by everyone in a two mile radius.

* * *

><p>Hello, I know this is by no means an excellent piece of literature, but it's just something I wrote up really quick for fun because of a request by someone on tumblr. Btw, in case anyone is interested, I run the only DK tumblr around: http :  ohkamimineko . tumblr . com / (Copy and paste into browser bar and remove the spaces.)

I'm sorry I have not yet updated my other story "Dragon Knights: Unending" but I promise I'm working on it! I have finals next week, but I promise to get it up before June.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Please review!


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